Question

Read the poem “If—” by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:



If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:



If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’



If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Question 1
P — Paraphrase
Which paraphrase most accurately captures the gist of the poem’s first stanza?

(5 points)
Responses

You will eventually be honored by kings and crowds.
You will eventually be honored by kings and crowds.

You should wait patiently until others tell you what to do.
You should wait patiently until others tell you what to do.

You should never listen to what others say about you.
You should never listen to what others say about you.

You must stay calm, be honest, and resist hatred even when others blame you or lie about you.
You must stay calm, be honest, and resist hatred even when others blame you or lie about you.
Question 2
What does the final couplet (“Yours is the Earth … you’ll be a Man, my son!”) mean in simple terms?(5 points)
Responses

You should travel the world to become a man.
You should travel the world to become a man.

You will be successful only if you are powerful.
You will be successful only if you are powerful.

You will own the world literally.
You will own the world literally.

If you meet the conditions laid out in the poem, you will achieve a full, mature life.
If you meet the conditions laid out in the poem, you will achieve a full, mature life.
Question 3
C — Connotation
In the lines:
"If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat those two impostors just the same,"
what literary device is Kipling using, and what is its effect?

(5 points)
Responses

Personification — Triumph and Disaster are described as deceptive beings, highlighting that success and failure are temporary and can mislead you.
Personification — Triumph and Disaster are described as deceptive beings, highlighting that success and failure are temporary and can mislead you.

Hyperbole — The speaker exaggerates the consequences of success and failure to make a point.
Hyperbole — The speaker exaggerates the consequences of success and failure to make a point.

Alliteration — The repeated “t” sounds emphasize the importance of moral strength.
Alliteration — The repeated “t” sounds emphasize the importance of moral strength.

Irony — Triumph and Disaster are called impostors to suggest that they are actually good and trustworthy.

Answer 1

Question 1 — Paraphrase
You must stay calm, be honest, and resist hatred even when others blame you or lie about you.
(That best captures keeping your head, trusting yourself but allowing others' doubt, waiting patiently, refusing to lie or hate.)

Question 2 — Final couplet meaning
If you meet the conditions laid out in the poem, you will achieve a full, mature life.
(It means living by the poem’s virtues leads to true success and manhood, not literal ownership.)

Question 3 — Connotation
Personification — Triumph and Disaster are described as deceptive beings, highlighting that success and failure are temporary and can mislead you.
(Kipling treats abstract outcomes as people/"impostors" to show they can deceive and shouldn’t be overvalued.)